Students to show their latest creations in 'Toy Fair'

December 3, 2013

Students Caitlin Cavanaugh and Bryan Lane discuss their team’s project to create a toy octopus that has moving appendages in this 2011 file photo. This year’s 'Toy Fair,' featuring toys created by students in Karthik Ramani’s computer-aided design course, will be from 8:30 a.m. to 12:20 p.m. Thursday (Dec. 5) on the second floor of the Mechanical Engineering Building’s Gatewood Wing. (Purdue University photo/Mark Simons) Download Photo

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue University engineering students will display a sleigh-full of new toys on Thursday (Dec. 5), from an interactive Pokeman game for tablets to a motorized "Tron Bike."

Students taking Karthik Ramani's computer-aided design course have created a wide array of toys and will show them off during "Toy Fair" from 8:30 a.m. to 12:20 p.m. on the second floor of the Mechanical Engineering Building's Gatewood Wing.

"The students kicked it up a notch this semester. The ideas are very imaginative," said Ramani, the Donald W. Feddersen Professor of Mechanical Engineering. "And the concepts have been proven through experimentation in the lab."

The course inspires students to have fun while learning.

Twenty toys will be displayed during the event, which is open to the public.

Designs include:

* A "Bugwars" toy cannon that is worn on the wrist and shoots rubber-tipped projectiles.

* A toy truck that flips and bounces in a dancing motion.

* A "Bomb Ball" toy, based on the video game character Super Mario, which is passed from player to player until "exploding," knocking out the last player to touch it.

* A dog that catches a flying disc. One player controls the dog while another pitches the discs, earning points.